Thursday, June 29, 2017

"We have disturbing reports on violations and abuses, including looting, kidnapping, arbitrary detention and child recruitment, committed by armed groups, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in areas under their control, such as the city of Tabqa,' he stated.

"US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday left open the possibility of longer-term assistance to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, saying the US may need to supply them weapons and equipment even after the capture of Raqqa from ISIS.

NATO ally Turkey, which views the YPG as a threat, has said Mattis assured it in a letter that the United States would eventually take back the weapons it was giving them once ISIS was defeated.

Mattis, in his first public remarks on the issue, did not directly dispute that account.

“We’ll do what we can,” Mattis told reporters during his flight to Germany, when asked about weapons recovery.

But Mattis also noted that YPG fighters were well-armed even before the US last month decided to offer more specialised equipment for its urban assault on ISIS-held city of Raqqa.

Mattis also said the battle against ISIS would continue even after Raqqa was captured and focused his answers about US weapons’ recovery on items he believed the YPG would no longer need in battle.

Asked if the Kurdish YPG forces would revert to their pre-Raqqa level of armaments once the fight was over, Mattis responded: “Well, we’ll see. It depends what the next mission is. I mean, it’s not like the fight’s over when Raqqa’s over.”

The US, Mattis said, in the near-term would be recovering weapons that the group does not need anymore as the battle advances.

“We’ll be recovering (the weapons) during the battle, repairing them. When they don’t need certain things anymore, we’ll replace those with something they do need,” Mattis said"

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Ya know, it’s really annoying to me to read the latest atrocity committed against the Syrian people by the US backed PKK/YPG. There has been so much harm done to the real, actual, residents of Syria by the YPG/PKK thugs.Especially against the Christians and Shiites. Though they, kurdish terrorists backed by the US, have targeted non compliant Sunni Arabs and Sunni Kurds, those most like them. (All that information is here at the blog)

But hey, who has been paying attention other then myself ? Most others have chosen to excuse the crimes, go along with the 5 eyes lying media, spread nonsense instead of facts, ignoring who these thugs really are and what has really been going on. Choosing to call them "syrian kurds" when reality is the vast majority of them are Turkish Kurds. All of them associated with PKK.

Digression: MoA, Zero Hedge, 21st Century Wire, SOTT, Saker and others all going along with the 5 eyes media lie - Hence my long time disillusionment with most alt media. You all decide who you want to read, but, I long ago made up my mind to discern only for myself.

Inform and think for myself. Listened to an interview yesterday at Our Interesting Times, with Ryan Dawson, and he
was speaking realistically about the Kurdish militias- I smiled. Finally.

I tell you all if I had to read another claim of democratic, secular and equality regarding the murdering Kurdish militias, PKK/YPG... I’d have wanted to vomit- Never mind the "most effective fighters against ISIS" spin. As if the two aren't simply US/Israel proxies ?!! Thankfully more and more people are catching on to the reality of the situation. Hoping I played some small part in raising awareness?

BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:50 P.M.) – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have obstructed water to over 1 million residents of Aleppo City, today, a Syrian government source reported.

The Syrian Democratic Forces reportedly blocked the water from the Euphrates Dam that feeds into the Khafsa Pumps, halting the supply to people of Aleppo City.
While no reason was given for SDF’s actions, it is likely due to the recent tiff between their forces and the Syrian Arab Army in the southwestern countryside of the Al-Raqqa Governorate.

The PKK terrorist group's Syria affiliate, the Democratic Union Party
(PYD) captured the three of the largest dams in Syria, where the
terrorist organization already has invaded 23 percent of the country.
(With plans to take 30% percent for their own) The Tishrin, Tabqa and Baath dams, all built on the Euprathes River,
have the capacity to provide the majority of the entire country's water
and electricity supply.

According to information gathered from the Assad regime's Irrigation
Ministry, the terrorist organization was able to reach the regions of
critical importance in terms of water and electricity resources, as well
as agricultural fields, thanks to these dams. The dams have the
capacity to supply 70 percent of the country's water requirements.

A total 60 percent of the agricultural fields in Syria are also under the domain of the PYD.

The Tishrin dam, which was taken from Daesh in 2015, has storage
capacity measuring 40 meters long and provides irrigation to Manbij and
Kobani.However, the Tabqa dam, captured recently last month, has a wide
energy and irrigation infrastructure with its electricity production and
storage basin that measures 60 meters long. It is the largest water
reserve in Syria and has the capacity to irrigate all fields from Manbij
and Kobani to the Iraqi border.Baath is the latest dam captured one among them and has the capacity to produce energy up to 75 megawatts (MWs) for a year.

The Tishrin dam can also produce electricity - to some extent - for
the surrounding villages and towns. Tabqa, on the other hand, cannot
produce electricity anymore due to damages incurred during conflicts
between Daesh and the PYD as well as U.S. bombardments. Local sources,
however, inform that the dam which was used for irrigation, has now been
taken under the control of the terrorist organization in order to
produce electricity. Lastly, the Baath dam is used for the irrigation of
surrounding agricultural fields.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Sy Hersh was everywhere yesterday. Which is rather stunning for a man who it is alleged finds it so very difficult to get published that only an outfit in NATO’s Germany publishes Hersh’s anonymously sourced tale.

Germany, where, not coincidentally the Panama Papers leaked out of.

"Over a year ago, an anonymous source contacted the Süddeutsche Zeitung
(SZ) and submitted encrypted internal documents from the law firm
Mossack Fonseca."

If we believe that we are being prevented from reading Hersh's expose or the Panama papers does it make us want to read the info that much more? Of course it does! Which was why I hesitated to read his latest at all. But, Hersh and one of the TOP news items of the day walk hand in hand. Where Hersh leaves off- Our news from today begins..Last paragraph from the Hersh piece:

“The issue is, what if there’s another false flag sarin attack credited
to hated SyriaTrump has upped the ante and painted himself into a
corner with his decision to bomb. And do not think these guys are not
planning the next faked attack. Trump will have no choice but to bomb
again, and harder. He’s incapable of saying he made a mistake.”

The Pentagon on Tuesday said it detected “active preparations” by Syria
for a chemical weapons attack, giving weight to a White House statement
hours earlier that the Syrian government would “pay a heavy price” if it
carried out such an attack

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, said the U.S. had seen
“activity” at Shayrat airfield that “indicated active preparations for
chemical weapons use.” That is the same base from which the Syria air
force launched an attack in April that the U.S. and others said used
lethal chemicals to kill civilians. Syria denied the charge.

I find myself still seeing Mr Hersh as a limited hangout, persuader, type of writer. Never really clarify anything and always readying future narratives. I wrote about this previously here at the blog.

Quoting myself here- "None the less there are some interesting aspects about this Hersh obfuscation/demonization. I find the article sets up the parameters for future spin"

After reading his lengthy article I didn’t gain any more knowledge about the chemical weapons attack that wasn’t. Hersh just restates the obvious.- There was no evidence of chemical use? Already knew that. -Social media images were managed and manipulated to create a specific narrative? Already knew that.

What else did I notice about Mr Hersh’s latest?Besides his last paragraph dovetailing with the Pentagon/Trump White house claims breaking today?

Two contentious issues jumped right out at me1: Sy Hersh reinforces common memes about Trump2: Sy Hersh doesn't question just who encouraged/created the sarin false flag

1st bone of contention

Sy Hersh reinforces the idea of a chaotic Trump White house. An out of touch, irrational President. The ‘mad dog’ The bull in the china shop, President who cares little about repercussions and right vs wrong as compared to Obama (LIE) All the same memes pushed via the 5 eyes media are reinforced by Sy Hersh.

None of his claims are groundbreaking, in fact they are just plain repetitive:

“To the dismay of many senior members of his national security team, Trump could not be swayed over the next 48 hours of intense briefings and decision-making. In a series of interviews, I learned of the total disconnect between the president and many of his military advisers and intelligence officials....

The reference, as those in the American intelligence community understood, and many of the inexperienced aides and family members close to Trump

But the president did not say: ‘We have a problem and let’s look into it.’ He wanted to bomb the shit out of Syria.”

Within hours of viewing the photos, the adviser said, Trump instructed the national defense apparatus to plan for retaliation against Syria. “He did this before he talked to anybody about it.

“And yet it was impossible for the experts to persuade the president of this once he had made up his mind. “The president saw the photographs of poisoned little girls and said it was an Assad atrocity,” the senior adviser said. “It’s typical of human nature. You jump to the conclusion you want. Intelligence analysts do not argue with a president. They’re not going to tell the president, ‘if you interpret the data this way, I quit.’”

Why not? Why not just quit if you feel the President is going to commit a war crime. Why not quit if the President is irrational and impulsive? I say bullbiscuits to this Sy Hersh rubbish!Hersh is merely spinning why the war making will increase, because, unlike St. Obama, Trump is brutish and thuggish. As if that's even close to the truth!

the war for your mind is always being waged

2nd issue: Hersh completely fails to mention that the false flag referenced in his article was done at the behest of the US. By US backed rebels.

He then reinforces the concept that Russia is in cahoots/covering for Syria. By rehashing, yet again, the same type of disinfo spread daily. Hersh doesn’t challenge the veracity of the claims-He acknowledges that these concepts exist and have been reinforced. In fact, Hersh helps to sustain them!

“The gist of the briefing was that Russia’s heated and persistent denial of any sarin use in the Khan Sheikhoun bombing was a lie because President Trump had said sarin had been used. That assertion, which was not challenged or disputed by any of the reporters present, became the basis for a series of further criticisms: - The continued lying by the Trump administration about Syria’s use of sarin led to widespread belief in the American media and public that Russia had chosen to be involved in a corrupt disinformation and cover-up campaign on the part of Syria. - Russia’s military forces had been co-located with Syria’s at the Shayrat airfield (as they are throughout Syria), raising the possibility that Russia had advance notice of Syria’s determination to use sarin at Khan Sheikhoun and did nothing to stop it. - Syria’s use of sarin and Russia’s defense of that use strongly suggested that Syria withheld stocks of the nerve agent from the UN disarmament team that spent much of 2014 inspecting and removing all declared chemical warfare agents from 12 Syrian chemical weapons depots, pursuant to the agreement worked out by the Obama administration and Russia after Syria’s alleged, but still unproven, use of sarin the year before against a rebel redoubt in a suburb of Damascus.The briefer, to his credit, was careful to use the words “think,” “suggest” and “believe” at least 10 times during the 30-minute event. But he also said that his briefing was based on data that had been declassified by “our colleagues in the intelligence community.” What the briefer did not say, and may not have known, was that much of the classified information in the community made the point that Syria had not used sarin in the April 4 bombing attack.

Can it be coincidental that immediately after the Hersh article is published. The very article that reinforces and relaunches previously implanted concepts that the rest of the Mockingbird press is spinning about Syria having chemical weapons? Readying a chemical attack? The Trump administration will have to respond?Repeating that last paragraph from the Hersh piece

“The issue is, what if there’s another false flag sarin attack credited
to hated SyriaTrump has upped the ante and painted himself into a
corner with his decision to bomb. And do not think these guys are not
planning the next faked attack. Trump will have no choice but to bomb
again, and harder. He’s incapable of saying he made a mistake.”

Were the alleged Sy Hersh revelations merely prepping us all for today's news?Justifying or selling expanded warfare? I'd say so.

Why is that Seymour Hersh? Since we're all for exposing the truth right Sy mockingbird Hersh?

Monday, June 26, 2017

Making note of the fact it is now after 3:00 pm EST. And there are a total of 6 news items covering the testimony from the Captain of the ACX Crystal that I have seen. The initial news was posted here at about 8:30 am EST. So, 6 1/2 hours later the vast majority of the five eyes media has not bothered to carry this news.

ACX Crystal warned Fitzgerald as it maneuvered into it's path

"A US warship struck by a Philippines container ship in Japanese waters
failed to respond to warning signals or take action before the collision
took place, according to a report from the cargo ship’s captain.

The Philippines ship ACX Crystal signaled to the USS Fitzgerald with flashing lights after the US warship “suddenly”
changed course to one crossing the container ship’s path, Captain
Ronald Advincula’s report to Japanese ship owner Dainichi Investment
Corporation states, according to Reuters.

The container ship steered to avoid the warship, but hit the Fitzgerald 10 minutes later, according to the report"

Did the Fitzgerald maneuver back into the Crystal's path?

In his report, Advincula said there had been “confusion” on the
cargo ship’s bridge, and that the vessel turned around and returned to
the collision site after continuing for six nautical miles (11
kilometers).

Possibly because it took that long for the ship to slow down enough to safely make the turn back?

In the first detailed account from one of those directly involved, the cargo ship's captain said the ACX Crystal had signalled with flashing lights after the Fitzgerald "suddenly" steamed onto a course to cross its path.

The container ship steered hard to starboard to avoid the warship, but hit the Fitzgerald 10 minutes later

A US warship struck by a container vessel in Japanese waters failed to respond to warning signals or take evasive action

A U.S. warship
struck by a container vessel in Japanese waters failed to respond to
warning signals or take evasive action before a collision that killed
seven of its crew, according to a report of the incident by the
Philippine cargo ship's captain.

Cargo ship’s captain claims USS Fitzgerald failed to respond to warnings or change course leading up to collision

The
U.S. warship that collided with a container vessel near Japan earlier
this month veered into the path of the freighter, according to the cargo
ship's captain.

The
captain's comments come as officials are still trying to makes sense of
the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the considerably larger
ACX Crystal during the early hours of June 17. Seven Navy sailors were
killed in the incident.

In a report to Japanese ship owner Dainichi Investment Corp seen by Reuters,
the captain of the Philippine cargo ship, Ronald Advincula, said their
vessel had signaled the USS Fitzgerald ahead of the crash. But the
Fitzgerald moved "suddenly" into the ACX's path despite the flashing
lights.

I believe the Daily Mail had also covered the report made by the Captain of the ACX Crystal - Keeping this one quiet..

Besides the crime and tragedy, the Fitzgerald incident is also interesting from a PR/media coverage- or actually total lack of coverage. If it's not in the news, did it really happen? If it's not getting coverage does it enter your reality?Ask yourself that when considering what gets coverage, what doesn't and finally why that is? Our perception- being managed 24/7. How are we liking the manipulation?

There should have been lookouts on watch on the port, starboard and stern of the destroyer Fitzgerald— sailors scanning the horizon with binoculars and reporting by headsets to the destroyer’s bridge. At 1:30 a.m. last Saturday, off the coast of Japan south of Tokyo, they could hardly have failed to see the 730-foot freighter ACX Crystal, stacked with more than 1,000 containers, as it closed in.

Radar officers working both on the bridge and in the combat information center below it should have spotted the freighter’s image on their screens, drawing steadily closer. And under standard protocol, the Fitzgerald’s captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, should have been awakened and summoned to the bridge to assure a safe passage long before the ships could come near each other.

But none of that happened. The Fitzgerald’s routine cruise in good weather through familiar, if crowded, seas ended in the most lethal Navy accident in years. Seven sailors lost their lives.

As investigators try to figure out what many veteran seamen describe as an incomprehensible collision, they have plenty of mysteries to unravel.

There should also be an audio recording from the bridge of the destroyer, like the harrowing tape of a 2012 collision between a different destroyer, the Porter, and an oil tanker, in which no one was injured.

Under strict orders not to talk about what they saw that night, the crew of the Fitzgerald is mostly keeping its counsel while grieving the loss of its shipmates. But one sailor, contacted via social media, offered what may endure as an epitaph for the accident.

“All I can say is,” the sailor wrote to The New York Times, “somebody wasn’t paying attention.”

On Friday, Rear Adm. Brian Fort, a veteran warship commander, was ordered to lead the Navy’s main investigation of the collision. The multiple investigations now underway — two by the Navy, one by the United States Coast Guard, others by the Japanese Coast Guard and the Crystal’s insurers — will probably provide answers. But even if the Crystal crew was asleep, Navy veterans say the far more maneuverable Fitzgerald will likely bear much of the blame.

“This is the kind of thing the Navy is brutally honest about,” said Bryan McGrath, who commanded a destroyer in the Atlantic from 2004 to 2006. “To the extent that the Fitzgerald did anything wrong, we’ll find out all about it, and there will be consequences.”

There are many signs that the Fitzgerald had almost no warning of the approaching collision: the fact that the captain was in his cabin and that no shipwide alarm had rousted sailors from their bunks. “As to how much warning they had, I don’t know,” said Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the Seventh Fleet, at a news conference on Sunday. “That’s going to have to be found out during the investigation.”

Immediately after this incident the Fitzgerald 'fan club' appeared. It was an obvious damage control mission..

Phil
I have information saved regarding the maneuverability of the lumbering
Crystal.. It takes that ship nearly 30 minutes to turn itself- It's a
ship that does not have the capabilities to play 'chicken" or do
brinkmanship.

I understand damage control and get that's what
your doing- but so far... you aren't accomplishing what it is your here
to do- The damage is done and people died- Members of the Fitzgerald
crew, the leadership, are responsible and they should be held
responsible for what happened-

If you really believe in justice for these dead persons, the leadership of the Fitzgerald have to be accountable.

I still maintain some members of the Fitzgerald crew were harassing the ACX Crystal and miscalculated their final, utlimately, deadly move. This would explain the lack of usual warnings regarding the approaching Crystal.

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Israel reportedly attacked a Syrian army unit in the northern Golan Heights on Sunday after errant fire from the Syrian side spilled over into Israeli territory, the second cross-border flare-up in two days.

Israeli aircraft struck a Syrian army jeep in the Syrian Golan, a Syrian army official told the Lebanese news outlet al-Mayadeen. The Israel Defense Forces haven't confirmed the report.

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Earlier this morning, while quietly enjoying our morning coffee, Hubby said "Israel is claiming projectiles came from Syria, landing in empty spaces on occupied Golan" To which I responded..
"I am so sick of this ruse" "You could set a watch to this" and "Of course, Israel will attack Syria"

Sherkoh Abbas, president of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria (KNAS).
Based in Washington, remember that!
Making him not the president of any National Assembly actually based in the country of Syria.
A Syrian Kurdish Opposition Leader based in Washington, not in Syria? Speaking to an Israeli audience all about how a new government in Syria will be most beneficial and friendly to Israel.

"Many
Syrian religious and tribal leaders who are now part of the Syrian
Democracy Council have no problem recognizing Israel and making peace"

Of course the Kurdish leadership based in Washington would have had no issue making peace with Israel as they partake of the spoils of war... Considering Kurdistan = Israel 2.0

There are literally dozens and dozens of posts here covering years of Israeli collusion/cooperation with their proxy forces in Golan. This is nothing new or recent- Despite the questionable Zero Hedge mentioning it this past week.. And their are years of posts here covering the cooperative collusive plotting of the Kurds and Israel... Not speculation. Nope in your face action!

Friday, June 23, 2017

Since I'm in a fightin' mood- Here's another aspect of the Syrian situation that seems to be mostly ignored by the 5 eyes main stream and so called alt media. I've mentioned the de facto no fly zone. Twice this week.

“The U.S. and U.S.-backed forces are using tactics that are virtually
guaranteed to raise enormous levels of casualties,” in the war in Syria,
IPS Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis told The Real News Network.

In
an effort to drive out ISIS from the heavily-populated—somewhere up to
200,000 civilians—city of Raqqa, the U.S. is resorting to tactics that
will make what the UN already called a “staggering loss of life”
worse"

Especially adding to the toll is the use of white phosphorus within the area

White phosphorus use, mentioned in previous post

"There has been a lack of press coverage dedicated to U.S. use of
chemical weapons, including white phosphorous—especially serious when
considering the international outcry months ago when Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad was accused of using chemical weapons in Aleppo."

There is also a lack of press focus on the escalating civilian casualties caused by U.S. airstrikes in and around Raqqa."

“This is one of those classic examples that the deaths of innocents are
far more important to cover in the mainstream U.S. press when those
responsible for the deaths of innocents are our so-called enemies,
rather than ourselves or our so-called friends,” Bennis said.

I got to admit the lack of alleged authority challenging alt media coverage has me flummoxed!The Telegraph : US-led coalition kills nearly 500 civilians in one month in Syria in record high

500 civilians is being admitted to. You all know it's higher.

Syrian residents of
the rebel-held town of Douma, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus,
break their fast with the "iftar" meal on a heavily damaged street on
June 18, 2017,Credit:
AFP

Amazing these people! Trying to have some semblence of normality in all this mayhem- Surely a necessity for their souls. For their mental health. My goodness...

Some 470 civilians, including 137 children, died in air strikes on the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil)-held cities of Raqqa and
Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria between May 23 and June 23.

The US, UK and other coalition members have provided air support for allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the ground.

The
coalition insists it takes every measure to avoid hitting civilians, but
residents say they are increasingly becoming collateral damage.

The coalition of the killing always denies their killing ways...

“We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which
have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only
in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000
civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Paulo
Sérgio Pinheiro, chairman of the UN Independent International Commission
of Inquiry on Syria, said earlier this month.

In March, more than 200 mostly women and children were reported to
have been killed while they seeking refuge in a school building in the
village of Mansoura.
Alarmingly high civilian tolls are also being reported in the Iraqi
city of Mosul, where the battle to dislodge the jihadists is in the
final throes.

In one, now
notorious incident, more than 150 civilians were killed on Match 17 when
a 500lb bomb was dropped on a house to kill two Isil snipers on its
roof.

I excluded the bullshit blaming Trump, because that spin was addressed here some time ago.

Not that the US was ever very careful when it came to civilians deaths however they at least talked as if they cared. Even that pretense will not apply for Syria and Iraq

The White House has acknowledged for the first time that
strict standards President Obama imposed last year to prevent civilian
deaths from U.S. drone strikes (not just drones) will not apply to U.S. military
operations in Syria and Iraq.

A
White House statement to Yahoo News confirming the looser policy came
in response to questions about reports that as many as a dozen
civilians, including women and young children, were killed when a
Tomahawk missile struck the village of Kafr Daryan in Syria's Idlib
province on the morning of Sept. 23.

The US/Coalition Policy is the same under Trump as under Obama- Kill and displace as many civilians as possible- That's how you remake a region. And weaponize refugee flows.

If it looks, walks, talks and acts like a NO Fly Zone.. It surely has to be one. I don't give a hoot about the lack of official recognition. The US isn't even supposed to be "officially" waging war on Syria. Against it's people and their elected leadership but it is!So, I don't need no stinkin' official proclamation! There is a no fly zone over annexed Syrian territory!The 5 eyes media is dancing around this for obvious reasons, but, where are the anti imperialists/anti war sites regarding this question?

A US official told CNN that another Syrian Su-22 fighter made an approach in what the military assessed as a possible bombing run on US backed-Syrian Democratic Forces near Tabqa, Syria, on Tuesday. The official said that coalition aircraft made a show of force and conducted a warning maneuver, and the Syrian fighter jet then aborted its trajectory and left the area.

Do the readers here recall the name below from past postings here?

“The chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Goldfein, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the de-confliction line "remains open."

“The U.S. Air Force is ready to create a no-fly zone in Syria, as stated by General David Goldfein, Rosbalt reported”

Gen. David Goldfein, a battle-tested command pilot who flew combat missions in the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and in NATO's 1999 air war to force the president of the former Yugoslavia to end his campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo"

Paul Iddon suggests not only do they have no fly zones, but, they have no drive zones too. Paul Iddon’s work has been featured here previously!

The US has this month twice shot down aircraft over areas in Syria, north and south, where it has forces and allied militias fighting the Islamic State group. This may indicate that Washington is bidding to establish de-facto no-fly zones in these areas.

On June 18, a US F/A-18 Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Air Force Su-22 bomber after it dropped bombs near the northern Syrian town of Tabqa, close to a US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces position.

Ten days earlier, June 8, a US Air Force F-15E shot down an Iranian-made Shahed 129 drone, which is roughly the same size as the iconic American Predator, after it dropped bombs near a position held by US-backed Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra anti-IS fighters in Al-Tanf, on Syria's southern border with Jordan.

"We do not seek conflict with any party in Syria other than ISIS, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves or our partners if threatened," Pentagon Spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said after the June 18 incident.

Despite this, the mid-air conflicts indicate that the US is willing to confront Damascus and its allied militia forces if it perceives them to threaten its allies or their anti-IS campaign. In Al-Tanf, US aircraft bombed pro-regime forces approaching al-Thawra positions twice - on June 6 and May 18.

Similar "no-drive zones" against regime ground forces approaching SDF positions around Raqqa may be enforced if they threaten the SDF. The Syrian Army recently made advances into the western countryside of Raqqa.

The irony of the on line commenters cheering on Syria, yet cheering for PKK/YPG as they ethnically cleansed whole areas of territory, annexing it for their own. Cognitive dissonance, I guess?
A refusal to see what was occurring in plain site? Or perhaps for some an intentional obfuscation, I don't know?

The SDF issued a statement shortly after the June 18 incident charging Damascus with carrying out "large-scale attacks using aircraft, artillery and tanks" against their forces and warning if it "continues its attacks on our positions in the province of Raqqa, we will be forced to reciprocate and use our legitimate right to defend our forces".

How long the US will maintain these de-facto no-fly/no-drive zones in these two areas is unclear. It's also unclear if they will become like the formalised no-fly zones the US imposed over Iraqi Kurdistan and southern Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War, where no Iraqi military aircraft were allowed without being intercepted and shot down by US-led coalition jets.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Isn't this interesting? She lied. All these years later. Just another example of how your perception is managed and how narratives are contrived to serve agendas. How much of this vile woman's testimony factored into the demonization of the Germanwings pilot? All of it, I'll bet. Trial by media, as usual! Keep this in mind as we follow the USS Fitzgerald incident

"Maria W." told a German newspaper she was the lover of Andreas Lubitz,
who copiloted the Germanwings flight that killed 150 people in 2015.

Days
after the crash, the German newspaper Bild published an interview with a
woman who claimed that she was Lubitz's lover. Her story lined up
perfectly with the emerging narrative of an unstable and destructive
pilot.

Like a gift to the liars in charge!

"Maria
W." told Bild she was a flight attendant who traveled through Europe
with Lubitz. She said he had told her that one day he planned to "do
something that will change the whole system, and only then will everyone
know and remember my name."

Liar! I recall this fabrication being everywhere at the time of the crash.

Die Zeit first reported doubts
around her account in March. Prosecutor Christoph Kumpa described
Maria's account as a "hoax," but Bild stood by its story. BuzzFeed News
is the first news organization to confirm that it is false.

Maria
claimed to have secretly spent nights with Lubitz in hotels all over
Europe, but a logbook of his flights for the year preceding the crash,
provided to authorities by the pilot's family, shows he spent the night
outside Germany only once, in Budapest. That flight had no cabin crew,
as it was to transport spare parts, not passengers.

"We can absolutely confirm that Maria W.'s story is purely fictional.
During a fourth meeting in December 2015, she explicitly admitted to
it," RTL spokesman Matthias Bolhöfer told BuzzFeed News.

"At
first, she didn't want to tell us her real name and she exclusively
wanted to meet up in a neutral environment, in a bar in Frankfurt, and
only with a woman," RTL manager Thorsten Wimber said. "So we sent a
female colleague. Her impression was: 'Maria W. is trustworthy.'"

But
when RTL requested evidence to confirm her identity, Maria failed to
provide it. When RTL confronted her with doubts about her story, Maria
presented email and chat records between her and Lubitz, but wasn't able
to provide a witness who could confirm their relationship.

Email and chat records- LOL

The
broadcaster eventually got in touch with the Düsseldorf public
prosecutor's office, which discouraged them from running an interview
with Maria W.

Wimber says Maria also apologized at her final
meeting with RTL, when she admitted she'd made up the story. "She told
us she was surprised how much effort we put into our research," he told
BuzzFeed News. The editor also told Maria that if she shopped her story
to another media outlet, he would go public "because this was clearly
fraud."
Bild's press office told BuzzFeed News "that we generally
don't make statements with regard to sources and editorial procedures,"
but the editorial staff is concerned about the attempt "to challenge the
coverage of Mr. Lubitz's mass murder of 149 human beings with the aid
of alleged speculations of third parties."

The paper said that
since the Düsseldorf prosecutor hasn't accused Bild of fabricating the
story, "we don't feel a correction is necessary. Instead, we will hold
on to the reporting on the gruesome killing spree of Mr. Lubitz."

Since the prosecutor has not or will not accept that Bild LIED they aren't changing a dam thing!

But
nobody is claiming that Bild made up the story — it simply appears to
have been duped by Maria. Prosecutor Kumpa said that he "has substantial
doubts and must conjecture that the woman has fabricated the story."

The
revelation that Maria's story is false comes as Lubitz's family is
aiming to clear his name. They've threatened to sue German authorities
over what they say are wrongful claims.

Documents and
investigation files seen by BuzzFeed News also show that Andreas Lubitz
apparently wasn't diagnosed with depression before the deadly plane
flight and didn't have a history of inpatient treatment. The Lubitz
family also alleges that the official investigation didn't meet
international standards. The responsible authority in Germany, the
Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU), rejected all accusations
and told BuzzFeed News that the new Lubitz report will not change its
official conclusions.

Saudi crown prince Bin Salman agrees with U.S. on Russia, Assad, Iran and ISIS and according to some reports, he's also met with top Israeli officials

This consolidation of power in Saudi Arabia bodes badly for the regionNayeff was ousted- The divisions in Saudi Arabia have been mentioned several times hereAl Jazeera

The series of decrees also amended Article V of the kingdom's statute
of ruling, stipulating that, from now on, only the sons and grandsons
of the founding King Faisal Al Saud can be kings and crown princes.

The decision by King Salman to promote his son and consolidate his
power was endorsed by 31 out of 34 members of the Allegiance Council,
the decree said.The council is made up of senior members of the ruling Al Saud family.
The Saudi king called for a public pledging of allegiance to the new crown prince early on Wednesday, the channel said.

Mohammed bin Nayef promptly vowed loyalty to his successor after the decree.

Restructuring power

Mohammed bin Salman has risen to power under his father's reign. He
had previously been in charge of his father's royal court when Salman
was the crown prince.
Over the weekend, the king had issued a decree restructuring Saudi
Arabia's system for prosecutions that stripped Mohammed bin Nayef of
long-standing powers overseeing criminal investigations.

Prince Bandar bin Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdul
Aziz was appointed Assistant Head of General Intelligence. King Salman
also ordered the appointment of the Prince as an advisor to the Royal
Court.

Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin
Sultan bin Abdul Aziz was appointed Advisor to the Royal Court, Prince
Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz as Advisor to the Royal Court
with the rank of Minister and Abdul Rahman Al Rabian as Advisor to the
Royal Court.

The royal order included the
following, Chapter 2 of Article 5 of the Basic Law of Government shall
be amended to read as follows: “Rule passes to the sons of the
founding King, Abd al-Aziz Bin Abd al-Rahman al-Faysal Al Saud, and to
their children's children. The most upright among them is to receive
allegiance in accordance with the principles of the Holy Quran and the
Tradition of the Venerable Prophet.”

Since interested parties are working so very hard to manage our perceptions... I'm making available some additional info regarding the Fitzgerald Incident.
Below is today's screen shot, from the official US Navy blog.

You can clearly see the date is June 21/2017 and the US Navy still has the 2:30 am (local time)as the time of the incident

http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2017/06/17/uss-fitzgerald/

Despite pushing an altered time line on the ACX Crystal's owners for public consumption

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Not sure why it is this question isn't being asked?It's clear that the US has the means to do so what with all the bases they've built with the assistance of PKK/YPG in annexed Syrian territory.Then there is another question that needs asking, this one regarding the Russian response.Why just west of the Euphrates, Russian leadership, if the territorial integrity of Syria is sacrosanct?

"A US coalition warplane downed on Sunday evening a Syrian regime army
jet as a response to attacks targeting a group of Kurdish fighters.The coalition announced in a statement that a Syrian SU-22 jet
dropped bombs near Syrian Democratic Forces positions in southern Tabqa.“In accordance with its right to defend itself or its partnered
force, the Syrian jet was immediately shot down by a US F/A-18 Super
Hornet,” the statement said.Meanwhile, the Syrian regime said in a statement that the pilot of the downed jet was missing.The regime statement also claimed that its jet was downed while on a mission against ISIS militants"

I have no problem with the Syrian government calling the PKK/YPG, ISIS. That symbiosis has been demonstrated abundantly here. What concerns me is it appears the US is enforcing a no fly zone for Syrian forces over their own territory- In a replay of Iraq. I've mentioned this as a probable reality a number of times and here it is actually occurring! No one else is talking about this?flashback: August 23/2016: A Defacto No Fly Zone Has Indeed Been Created in Syria!

Defacto: being such in effect though not formally recognized: exercising power as if legally constituted......If it walks, and talks like a duck, it’s a duck.
And for all intents and purposes a no fly zone has been instituted over
Syria as the US and company openly assist the Kurds in their land
grabbing, annexation and ethnic cleansing.

When the US chased Syrian jets away from Hasakah- You know Syrian territory that the US has been aiding the kurds in annexation and ethnic cleansing....

Of course at the time the US denied they had created a defacto no fly zone- Yet, then as now, it looks as if they have-

General Talal Silo released a statement regarding the Syrian regime forces' attack on SDF positions near Tabqa.
The statement said the following:

“After the heroic resistance demonstrated by our troops and the
allied forces against terrorism within the Wrath of Euphrates campaign
launched by SDF that aims for isolating Raqqa city, and mainly after the
Great Battle was started to liberate Raqqa city which is the alleged
capital of terrorism and terrorists- during which our forces excellently
progressed and liberated many neighborhoods already- the Baathist
regime launched a deliberate and expansive attack on the areas liberated
by SDF, using warplanes, artillery and tanks June 17, 2017. The attack
targeted a territory liberated by SDF three months ago as part of the
campaign to liberate the Tabqa town and the Euphrates Dam.

Syria want's their Dams back and pardon the pun, they have dam good reasons for wanting their water/electricity supply and rich farmland back!

"We confirm that if the regime forces continue their attacks on our sites
in Raqqa governorate, it will oblige us to use our right to legitimate
defense and retaliate.”

Those sites are Syria's territory- They don't belong to a pack of terrorists the US threw their big guns behind-

“Any
aircraft, including planes and drones belonging to the international
coalition operating west of the Euphrates river, will be tracked by
Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as
targets.”

“What
is this other than an act of aggression in violation of the norms of
international law? This, if you like, is help for the terrorists that
the US are fighting under what they call their anti-terrorism policy.”

This is being ballyhooed as some big threat! I don't see it. It's not even a response to the attack made against the Syrian plane in my opinion.

It's what's happening east of the Euphrates that should concern Russia if the territorial integrity of Syria was really the priority.

We should be able to look at a map and understand that water control is the aim of Israel 2.0 aka Greater Kurdistan. Much like Israel the 1st- As Israel 2.0 is formed taking in the Tigris and the Euphrates...

I noticed Mr Doğu Perinçek , over in Turkey was using the Israel 2.0 title recently...Getting harder to deny now... Read that and have it bookmarked- when I find that item it will be here..... From earlier today:

You all knew it was going to happen. The US was going to manipulate this situation, muddy the waters, in order to hide their own malfeasance. The US has the upper hand thanks to a treaty between the US and Japan that not only gives the US all the milk, it gives them all the cows too!

I noticed on Sunday, two days after irresponsible members of the USS Fitzgerald crew gave us all a perfect example of foolishness, arrogance and hubris, resulting in the loss of life and incapacitating damage to the ship that there were claims the Japanese Coast Guard got the accident time wrong- It had been reported for days the accident occurred at approximately 2:30 am local time

The post relinked above went up at approximately 1:32 EST- Read the news prior to that on RT

7 US crew members missing. URGENT: The USS Fitzgerald, a 505-foot destroyer that carries the motto "Protect Your People," struck a merchant vessel at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time on June 17. about 56 miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, on Friday.

Here’s where we get to the perception managing deal the US is pushing on Japan.

According to the US, the Japanese Coast Guard got the time wrong not because the Coast Guard got the time wrong, but, because the ACX Crystal DIDN’T NOTIFY the coast guard until a whole hour later- Since you can’t prove something didn’t happen, because it didn’t happen, the US has to force an altered time line onto reality and wielding the upper hand given to it by the treaty, the Japanese firm that owns the container ship has agreed to the altered time line.

It was a given the US was going to engage in exactly this type of behaviour and they did not disappoint- No Sireee!!!

" the Japan-based transportation company operating the merchant ship, agreed to the revised timeframe"

And now a call that didn’t happen, that could never be proven, (because if it hasn't occurred it can't be proven in the real world) has now been maneuvered into an altered time line- Right before all of our eyes.

To avoid job loss or some type of retribution some crew members of the ACX Crystal will lie about the time the accident occurred & claim the should have called it in, but, didn't... and the US has muddied the waters enough to take some of the heat off the Fitzgerald crew and captain

We are getting right into creating yet another fictitious reality in order to serve a specific agenda. Don’t you love how the real world is manipulated to serve those that hold the power? In this case the US Navy having the upper hand and an overwhelming amount of clout thanks to their prior treaty with Japan to coerce this situation.: to use or change (numbers, information, etc.) in a skillful way or for a particular purposeThis alteration of the time line is a perfect example of deceptive changes for a particular purpose. Now the US can spread the blame around and distract from the criminality of the US Fitzgerald’s actions.The ACX Crystal owners already took one for team America - Go Navy!

Monday, June 19, 2017

Obviously the US has the upper hand and desperately needs to maintain a certain perception of their naval might therefore we can expect this story to be carefully managed. By carefully managed, yes, I do mean obfuscated, in a manner that serves the US military

A number of commenters suggested the Crystal had intentionally and maliciously rammed the Fitzgerald. This is absurd. It makes no logical sense what so ever! Why would the container ship crew and captain do this? For what gain?To possibly be blown out of the water?Having the wrath of the US Navy come down on this cumbersome, slow moving, ship? Risk millions of dollars in cargo? I’m sure the insurance companies would just love that! (Facetious)The claim of the Crystal acting malicious is a huge fail! It just doesn’t make sense.

Based on available information via the media I've read so far.......

I lean towards the Fitzgerald crew harassing the container ship or playing chicken with the lumbering slow moving behemoth and miscalculating their own maneuvering-Given the free reign the US Navy has in the Japanese seas, along with a technologically superior ship, the captain was willing to play a dangerous game. And he lost! WSJ- Treaty Gives US, Not Japan, Upper Hand in Probe

"Clouding the investigations into Navy ship collision is a bilateral treaty on the status of American forces in Japan. The treaty gives the US jurisdiction over “offenses arising out of any act or omission done in the performance of official duty”

The Fitzgerald

Knowing the US has the upper hand. Knowing the US has every reason to whitewash this incident.Covering up their negligence, incompetence or criminality. We should not expect the truth or anything close to it regarding what took place when the Fitzgerald and the Crystal collided.

The US needs to maintain the concept of their power and superiority. The belief in this is half of what makes them the dominant global force today- Giving them every reason to spin this incident.

As mentioned in previous post comment section:

The US grabbed the responsible Captain, probably his immediate subordinates, and have pretty much detained them for an unspecified amount of time. Though there isn’t really any mention of the captain, in particular, being injured. I have my doubts that he was.

"Cmdr. Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald's commanding officer, was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka by a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) helicopter. All three medevac’d sailors are awake and will remain under observation at the hospital until further notice"

No mention of injuries, unlike the injured parties mentioned in the paragraph below- just “remain under observation at hospital until further notice’ I’ll say these three have been incarcerated/silenced for all intents and purposes

"Two additional personnel have been medevac’d from Fitzgerald to USNH-Yokosuka by Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12 (HSC-12) for lacerations and bruises. Other injured are being assessed aboard the ship"

"The Fitzgerald often sails in the West Pacific, including in the coastal waters of China. Certain rules need to be followed to avoid collisions on the sea. It is an unspoken rule that the smaller ship should give way to the bigger one. At about 29,000 tons displacement, the Philippine container ship is more than three times the size of the 8,315-ton Fitzgerald. In the face of such a larger vessel, the Fitzgerald obviously did not show due prudence"

The Fitzgerald often sails in the West Pacific- Which means it’s crew is very, very, very well aware of the traffic in the area. (Another fail for the apologists)

“It is an unspoken rule that the smaller ship should give way to the bigger one.”

The Fitzgerald failed to give right of way

“ the Fitzgerald obviously did not show due prudence”

Obviously the Fitzgerald crew failed to show prudence!

“Cargo ships often have lights on during night navigation so as to be identified from a long distance while the Fitzgerald is a small-sized destroyer which employs stealth technology. Under normal circumstances, it should have spotted the Philippine container ship first. From this perspective, the US side should bear more responsibility”

The Fitzgerald employing all manner of technology alongside a 300 plus crew should have been able to spot the lit up container ship, visually (a container ship does not have the advantage of top line technology, because, it’s a container ship not a war ship)

Another Fitzgerald fail

“Given US' influence, no countries in the Asia-Pacific region want their vessels to get into trouble with US warships. This may have led to the US sailors' carelessness’

Given US dominance and arrogance on the seas the US sailors may have been careless or worse criminal. Go back to the treaty mentioned at the beginning of the post

Aucoin was asked if damage on the starboard side indicated the U.S. ship could have been at fault, but he declined to speculate on the cause of the collision. Maritime rules suggest vessels are supposed to give way to ships on their starboard.

Maritime rules suggest vessels are supposed to give way to ships on their starboard, we’ve already addressed that maritime rules suggests vessels are supposed to give way to larger vesselsYet another Fitzgerald fail!

It is believed the commander of the Fitzgerald and people found liable will be punished. We hope all US warships in the West Pacific should draw a lesson from the incident, not only for their own safety, but also for the peace of the sea passages in the region.

Think about this?

War is .....

WAR IS THE CONTINUATION OF STATE POLICY, BY OTHER MEANS

WAR IS A POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN WHICH VIOLENCE IS USED TO BEND THE WILL OF YOUR ENEMY TO THAT OF YOUR OWN

Stop being Manipulated by the Elites

For if you [the rulers] suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves [outlaws] and then punish them.´ - Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

Resource: Ukraine Military Marker

How your brain works

“‘Each thought and behavior is embedded within the circuitry of the neurons, and…neuronal activity accompanying or initiating an experience persists in the form of reverberating neuronal circuits, which become more strongly defined with repetition”

Richard Restak

Unshackle YOUR mind

'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed'- Steve Biko

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Edward Bernays: Perception Management it is a Reality

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society,"

"Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. . . . In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons . . . who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind."

About Me

This blog is a place to not only post information that will never see the light of day on the mainstream media, but, also to present alternative perspectives to main stream media information, that most often presents no background, no context, and never questions the information presented.
The name I chose, Penny for your thoughts, is an invitation to readers to share their relevant thoughts on the varying information.